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The Dragonborn Empire of the Four Kingdoms
The Dragonborn Empire of the Four Kingdoms is one of the nations of Tortuga in the world of Tortugalia. The Dragonborn Empire of the Four Kingdoms has historically been a nation of tolerance. Lead by the Dragonborn Emperors, the subject races of Men, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Elves have enjoyed much freedom and autonomy in the regime for many years. The Four Kingdoms are as follows: In the North East, the Human Kingdom is administered from Fordale. In the South East, the Gnomish Kingdom was administered from Redwood. In the South West, the Dwarvish Kingdom was administered from Tunelia. In the North West, the Elvish Kingdom was administered from Bloomford. This came crashing to the ground with the start of the Great War. Empire wide Necromantic uprisings rocked the empire and pushed it to the brink of collapsed. However, with at the great victory at the Battle of Fordale, the Empire rallied around a new Dragonborn Empress. However, the necromancers still posses great strength through the country and have fashioned themselves new lords of the empire’s fiefs, souring the land. A grand crusade, led by the Metallic Dragons and the new Dragonborn Empress, seeks to unseat these evil doers from their seats of power. History The Conquest of the Four Nations. The Dragonborn Empire was once Five separate nations. The Khanate of the Dragons, the Empire of Man, the Kingdom of the Elves, the Democratic Association of the Gnomes, and the Kingdom of the Dwarvish Peoples. Constant was between the Men, Elves, Gnomes, and Dwarves caused a continuous decrease of their manpower and supplies. The Khanate of the Dragons was a nomadic, peaceful nation of Dragonborn, lead by their Ancient ancestor Dragons. This balance of power changed when a powerful Chromatic Dragonborn Warrior by the name of Baldaar united the dragonborn Clans under his leadership, declared himself the Great Khan, and declared the Great Crusade of the Dragon to conquer the world. The Metalic Dragons refused to take place in this crusade, and scattered across the countryside, abandoning their clans. The Chromatic Dragons, too selfish to help in such a crusade, also did not join. The Great Khan quickly overwhelmed the Democratic Association of the Gnomes and enslaved them to his will. Gnomes who resisted or spoke seditious were rounded up by the Chromatic Dragonborn and killed. The metallic Dragonborn heard rumors of such atrocities, but did not do anything to stop them. With the magical riches of the Gnomes to enrich his armies, Klethormore invaded the Empire of Man. After a brief resistance, by a small group of nobles, the Emperor of Man surrounded. In return for not killing all the nobles in the land, the Empire of Man agreed to add its intact armies to those of the Dragonborn Khan's. With such strength available, the Khan set his site on the Kingdom of the Elves. The Elves, a proud people, offered fierce resistance. After months of campaign, the war ground to a standstill. That is when Baldaar shocked the elves with an offer of a peace treaty. For a sum of gold, he would allow them to remain independent. The elves, rich as they were, easily agreed to such an easy way to end the war. At the signing of the peace treaty at the elvish capital of Bloomford, the Khanate's personal guard slaughtered the Elvish nobles who attended the peace event and with a few dozen warriors took the Elvish palace with the Elvish King hostage. Here, he forced the King to sign magical document, signing his claim of the Elvish kingdom, forever, to Baldaar and his Heirs. The draconic armies then surrounded the capital and stamped out all other Elvish resistance. Finally, the Khan set his sites on the Kingdom of the Dwarves. However, before he could invade the Dwarves sent the Khan their own pledge of fealty. He agreed to allow them to be a Vassal state serving under his empire if their forges produced weapons to fuel his armies. The End of Unity: The Spring of the Peoples. Baldaar ordered the creation of a mighty fleet and sent ships of exploration off the shores of his great continental empire. He gathered his armies to go across the seas to conquer all the known islands in the world. However, during his review of a human shipyard, conspirators were able to isolate and kill Baldaar. And so the First Great Civil war began. The Civil war was bloody, as the four subject nations rose up. The Kingdom of Man and the Kingdom of the Dwarves formed an alliance, being the two kingdoms whos armies were intact. Together, they aimed to take over the Empire. Meanwhile, the Chromatic and Metalic Dragonborn fueded among themselves. The Chromatic Dragonborns still held great power in the Gnomish realms, and used their slave labor to produce mighty magic for their armies. The Metalic Dragonborn declared all subject peoples free, and the Kingdom of the Elves quickly swore their allegiance to them. After a long war, which saw the Metallic dragons come out of hiding, the Empire was united under a new regime of Metalic Dragonborn. However, the Empire was not whole. The fringes of the Empire, so determined to resist the great Dragonborn, maintained their independence in the compromised treaty of Tortuga. It allowed the Republics of the Northern Magi, Govevale, Moriah, Morgana, Lavidia, and Pasimitat to remain independent. These Republics would all form a permanent defensive alliance against the Dragonborn Khanate, henceforth renamed the Dragonborn Empire of the Four Kingdoms, recognizing the relative autonomy of each subject people under them. The Chromatic Dragonborn, defeated, scattered across the land. Their numbers decimated by the wars, they would never again be a strong force in the world. They are mostly seen today serving Chromatic Dragons. However, there are those who say the decedents of Baldaar claim the throne of the Dragonborn Empire is rightfully theirs. The Golden Age Following this period, the Dragonborn Empire enjoyed what many called a Golden Age. For two hundred years, the Empire thrived. Besides a few brief wars between the Empire and the Republican Pact, the Golden Age was largely peaceful. The Decimated Gnomish population slowly began to recover, but Dwarves, Men, and even Elves slowly migrated into what was once Gnomish sovereign lands. However, standing under one tenth it's former population, the Gnomes couldn't utilize the land on their own and welcomed the help from their towering and stout friends. During this time, the Metallic Dragonborn peoples receded into the center of the country, to what became known as the "Homeland." Humans, with their political aptitude, found an easy place in the imperial bureaucracy. Human and Dragonborn Bureaucrats administered the Empire from it's kingdom's former capitals; Fordale of the human realm, Redwood of the Gnomish lands, Tunelia of the Dwarves, and Bloomford of the Elven realms. These bustling cities became economic powerhouses, while the Homelands became more and more secluded. Soon, non-bureaucratic Dragonborn became a rarity outside the homeland. Due to it's reliance on the subject nations to govern, the Dragonborn Empire became a beacon of tolerance and diversity in Tortugalia. While most Republican states were Ethnic in origin, all races, even outside of the main subject races, were accepted in the Dragonborn Empire. Finally, the Great Dragons of the Empire decided that their presence was no longer needed. They went into hiding to live out their lives in peace. The Kobold Uprising Near the end of the Golden Age of the Empire, Kobolds grew more and more disaffected. After having sided with the Chromatic Dragonborn during the civil war, they were pushed underground. At first, the ventured deep into the under dark to try to carve out their own underground empire. However, this attempt was quickly abandoned for unknown reasons. The Kobolds, pushed closer to the surface began digging out underground tunnel systems in which to live. surviving mostly off of fungus and the occasional animal hunted at night on the surface, Kobolds mostly stayed underground. However, as their tunnel network grew it began to push up against the limited underground holdings of the Gnomes. The Empire, in defense of it's Gnomes, demanded the Kobolds dismantle their networks which clashed with the Gnomes, swear fealty to the Empire, and pay taxes. This lead to an uncountable number of kobolds attacking the Empire in the Great Kobold Army. The Great Kobold Army was put down in three months by a combined arms force of the Dragonborn warriors from the homeland, Dwarvish warriors, Elvish wizards, and human cavalry. In a humiliating defeat, the Kobolds swore fealty to the empire, and were designated officially acceptable locations to make tunnel networks under the Human section of the Kingdom. The Great War Little is thus far known about the Great War. A large cult of Necromancers inserted themselves around the Empire without detection for an unknown amount of time. Then, at a pre ordained time they used the Empire's graveyards, en masse, to make necromantic hordes. Simultaneously, great magic rituals were done in cities across the Empire to sacrifice it's urban population. While some failed, it is known that the city of Redwood was completely destroyed and it's population turned into undead horrors. The location of the Empire's great Dragons was unknown. Pockets of resistance formed through out the Empire. The city which survived the best was Fordale, where a group of adventurers failed to stop the initial necromantic uprising, but alerted Lord Lazalith to it's approach. He called up his vassals and an army massed in Fordale, and he rode out through the countryside with his Cavalry gathering up all those who could move and killing any undead. At first, the entire area around Fordale was to be defended as to be able to keep up agricultural production. However, after a number of grinding battles and the failure of the Kobolds to answer the call for banners, it became apparent that Lazalith's host must all retreat into the city. He recalled all forces to Fordale and fortified the town, sending out frantic messengers across the Empire and across it's borders to the Republics for aid. The newly formed nation of "The Republic" promised immediate aid, and began sending food and supplies to Fordale by airship. During this time, a member of the Cultists defected. Knowing that their sacrifice was a required part of a ritual to complete the Necromancer's goal, to resurrect Lady Vol, they made their way into Fordale with a group of adventurers. These adventurers became a key part in the city's defense, and made great names for themselves. Many of them have key parts in the Empire's government today. During this time, the Heir to the Empire's Throne, Princess Korrine, 7th in line for the Imperial Throne, was found. The Cult of the Dragon, in a secret ceremony, crowned Korrine Empress. In this ceremony, five ancient and powerful Metalic Dragons pledged their lives and service to the Empress. They were as follows Rhaegos- The Mithril Dragon Feramin- The Silver Dragon Terfure- The Steel Dragon Sharpir- The Bronze Dragon Factor- The Golden Dragon Meanwhile, the Cultist defector was caught and sacrificed. For some reason, the ritual was not successful. Lady Vol refused to be resurrected. A power struggle in the Cult of Vol resulted and the worship of Vol was ended. The necromantic host began to splinter off, with many necromancers leaving their their hordes. To keep the remaining army united, the new Cult leader Johnathan Handes and his wife found a new goal to move upon. Having failed their ultimate goal, the Necromancers gathered their armies to assault Fordale, ultimately ignorant to the new Empress. Millions strong, the necromantic hordes descended on Fordale. The Empress, after forcing Lazalith to swear fealty to her, went to the walls to command their defense. The battle was intense, and sections of the wall were soon being lost. inexplicable, the Empress disappeared in the fighting. Soon, the wall was ablaze with cries of "The Empress is dead, the wall is lost" as men fleed from the walls. As the undead began to come flooding over the walls, the five mighty dragons flew overhead, and a cry of "The Empress is alive, the walls hold!" was began by the adventuring party who are now known as "The Heroes of Fordale." This is the moment when the Northern Metalic Kobolds chose to enter the war, on the side of the Empire. Great swaths of the fields in front of Fordale collapsed into the ground and great sinkholes opened up, disrupting the great undead host. The Five Dragons lead a charge, their breath weapons opening up a hole for the Knights of Fordale to sally forth from the city and charge for the leaders of the necromantic host. The Heroes of Fordale, mounted on the great Dragons, along with the Knights of Fordale defeated the leaders of the host, and as the lead necromancers died, their hosts collapsed with them. Without necromancers to control them, the undead army collapsed in the face of Kobold, Cavalry, Dragon, and infantry assault. The remaining cultists fled from the field of battle, and ran as fast as they could go. The Failed Coup Immediately after this, an attempt on the Empress's life was made by The Republic. Lazalith had sworn his lands to The Republic, and they claimed his keep. In an assault lead by the Heroes of Fordale, the keep was reclaimed and the republican invaders were pushed out. In a deal made with one of the Heroes of Fordale with a Grazzt, the players acquired handheld explosives who's prototype was just completed. In turn, Grazzt assaulted the capital of The Republic with his demon host, armed with Grenades. Lazalith was executed on the spot for treason and the Republican weapons cache was claimed for the Empire. Current time The Empress has called all loyal subjects of hers across the country to join her Great Crusade. With the remains of her Fordale host and her great Dragons, she rides out to reclaim her throne. Many necromancers who left the cult early, or escaped the Battle of Fordale set themselves up as liege lords in their own castles, and now the land must be rid of the Necromantic threat. The surviving nobility now slowly begins to attempt to reclaim their fiefs and rebuild their power bases.